If your home is on a well for your water then you are responsible for maintenance of your water system. When things are working correctly you normally won’t see any difference between using a well for your water vs being on a utility provided water connection. Depending on the quality of your water and your home you will have a number of different parts to your system. You have your well pump that can be submerged in the well pipe or it can be located in your pump house or basement. You have your water filtration system that purifies and treats your water so it is good to drink and wash with. And then you have a Pressure Tank which can be a little bit mysterious to some people as to how they work but basically they are a small storage tank with an innertube like rubber bladder and when the well pump runs the tank is filled with water and when you turn your water off at the sink the well pump will build up pressure in that tank so that there is 10 to 20 gallons of water available before your pump has to turn on again.
The setup and sizing of your pressure tank will be based on your home and your use of water but all well water systems must use these pressure tanks because you do not want your pump turning off and on every time you open the faucet.
Well pumps are rated at a minimum run time and normally that is 1 minute minimum and if your well pump is turning on and off every time you use your water then there is probably something wrong with your Pressure Tank.
How To Know If Your Pressure Tank Is Going Bad Or Has Failed
Normally when a bladder in a pressure tank fails it will let water past the bladder and then there is a nipple on the top of the tank where you check the pressure with a tire gauge and when you check it.. water will come out of that nipple. It will be like the tires on your car were filled with water. However that may not be the case when you are having a bladder failing but still partly working
Pressure Tanks have to be inflated to the correct pressure. The normal factory delivered pressure i believe is about 38 PSI. To test how much air pressure is in your pressure tank you should first turn the circuit breaker off to your pump to stop the pump. Now open any faucet in your house until the water stops flowing. All the water pressure will be out of the system. Then take a tire pressure gauge and check the pressure on the nipple valve on the top of the tank. Sometimes there is a screw off cap covering the valve but it is a schrader valve just like on your car tires. Read the pressure there should be probably about 38psi in the tank.
The proper pressure depends on your specific system.. the way to know the exact pressure is to know the pressure that your pressure switch is adjusted to to tell your pump to come on… the right pressure is 2psi below the pump cut in pressure on the pressure switch.
The pressure switch should be near the tank and it might say what the pressure is set to turn the pump on. If it says 40psi or 40/60 then then the pressure in the tank with the water drained and your pump off should be 38psi which is 2psi below what the turn on setting is for your water pump to turn on. When the pressure switch reads 40psi it will turn your pump on and when it reads 60psi it will turn the pump off. The air in your tank bladder has to be 2psi below 40psi or it won’t let the water in your system get low enough to turn your pump on correctly. The Air Pressure in the Tank and the Pressure Sensor Switch for every system is set when it is installed but bladders can stretch or leak and also pressure sensor switches can be adjusted so you can’t always go by factory markings when testing your system.
To see if your bladder has ruptured check the air valve on the top of the tank while there is pressure in the system.. if water comes out the tank needs to be replaced. Another way to test if there is water getting past the bladder is to turn off your pump and empty the pressure in the system and drain the tank . The tank must be completely drained and not just a faucet left open for this test. Now you can shake the tank by rocking it carefully so not to damage your pipe and you shouldn’t hear any water sloshing around in the tank. If you do hear water in the tank then the bladder is failing or has failed. Be careful when rocking your tank any you might need to remove the pipe leading to it especially if any of it is pvc.
What Is The Best Sized Water Well Pressure Tank To Purchase If Mine Needs Replacing?
The rule of thumb for pressure tank size is the larger the better however there are price points where a common large tank might be less expensive because it is used more often by a home owner.. I can’t tell you that but if you see a 20,30,40,50 and the 40 gallon is only slightly more expensive than the 30 gallon and then the 50 gallon is much more expensive then you want to pick the 40 because it is probably a common size. Its kind of like picking water heaters there are always common sizes that are cheaper because more of them are made. Sure maybe you can get a 37 gallon tank but its going to cost you twice as much as a 50 Gallon because its an uncommon size.
Final Note
It is important to understand how all of the parts of your well water system work so that you can adjust and service it to provide healthy water for a long service life.
If you are purchasing a home you may want the home owner to furnish you with a layout of the pieces of equipment, manufacturer’s names, age of the equipment especially filter install dates. If they can not do this then you can afford a single visit by a plumber to layout the design of your system on paper and tell you about the service intervals and age of your equipment. I wouldn’t expect a home inspector to do this as they will probably just check basic operation of the system.
Things do need to be replaced over time and you should know the age of your equipment so you can plan and save for those replacement costs. Who knows you might find better options that are less expensive if you do the work and understand your system rather than being that home owner that turns on the faucet and when water doesn’t come out they shout down into it in frustration.
